In order to develop accurate shooting skills, basketball players spend many hours practicing shooting balls at baskets. When practicing with a conventional single backboard and basket, the player must repeatedly move towards and away from the basket to retrieve the ball after each throw. Thus, the number of shots actually taken during a practice period is reduced by the necessity of travel.
Conventional devices have been developed to retrieve balls after they are shot at a basket, and return the balls to the player to eliminate movement toward and away from the basket, thus increasing the intensity of shooting practice. One such device is disclosed by U.S. Pat. No. 4,913,431 to Jakobs. Jakobs discloses a retrieval and return device consisting of a single funnel-shaped retrieval net, mounted on a wheeled cart, that is positionable underneath a basket. The balls captured within the net are funnelled through an elbow-shaped tube onto an elongate duct that extends away from the basket toward the player's shooting position.
Another retrieval device is disclosed by U.S. Pat. No. 4,697,810 to Mathison, which discloses a paneled enclosure that is positionable around a backboard and basket. Selected panels on the enclosure may be opened to enable shooting at a selected angle relative to the basket. The paneled enclosure supports a collection funnel positioned beneath the basket to receive the balls and return them to the player.
While such conventional single basket devices enable a player to eliminate the time otherwise spent traveling to and from the basket, the devices do not permit a player to vary his or her distance from the basket or his or her angular orientation relative to the basket unless the player moves laterally between shots. If the player moves position for a more complete practice, time and energy is wasted during lateral movement. Further, as these prior devices include only one basket, the number of players which can practice at any one time is limited, and the number of players a coach can simultaneously observe, or video-tape, is also limited.
Finally, the above noted conventional floor mounted devices are relatively large. If a number of devices are to be used to permit practice by more than one player, a large area of gymnasium floor space is taken up, potentially interfering with other practice or game activities. After practice, the devices must be moved for storage if floor space is to be freed up.